You are here

DC Proposes Ban on Styrofoam Food Containers

Mayor Vincent Gray has proposed banning foam food containers in the District, citing their harmful effect on the Anacostia River. The measure is part of a package of bills Gray recently submitted to the D.C. Council as part of his effort to “make the District of Columbia the healthiest, greenest, and most livable city in the United States,” the mayor wrote in a letter to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.
The legislation bans “expanded polystyrene” in food containers, plates, clamshells, hot and cold beverage cups, meat and vegetable trays and egg cartons. It will affect restaurants, grocery stores, food trucks, cafes, coffee shops, cafeterias, supermarkets and any other business that still uses ploystyrene to sell or provide food for consumption on or off the premises.​